Ingrid Houwers, better known nowadays as 'Graywolf', was born in the Netherlands and currently lives in the beautiful County Down, in Northern Ireland. From a young age she showed a great passion for nature, animals and plants alike and creating things. With anything she could get her hands on she'd try to make something. Collecting and 'studying' anything she could find she always had something to bring along for show and tell and not always to the teacher's liking.
            Ingrid is a mostly self-taught artist. In high school many of her old papers are riddled with doodles that had little or nothing to do with the subject she was meant to be following at that time. Drawing and painting has always been a passion and with the encouragement of one of the art teachers in particular, Hans Westhoff, who passed away on the 22nd of April 2004, she decided to apply for art academy and was taken in.
            Art academy wasn't the best of time for her, due to a accident in her private life, creating personal issues she had no control over. That same year, because of the personal issues and the fact that she had more commissions outside the academy than homework, the decision was made to stop with art academy and venture out on her own. She did complete the first year and got all the points needed.
            Nowadays Ingrid draws, paints, crafts and designs countless of things for a living. She has made her hobby and her love for creating into her job. Next to that she is a corset maker and wearer, allowing customers to design their own dream corset for her to make into the real thing.
            She's also a taxidermist, acknowledged by the state, and has done many commissions for museums, schools and other teaching facilities and people that are genuinely interested in nature. She refuses to work on anything that has been killed for the main purpose of having it mounted on their wall and prefers to work on animals that have died a natural cause. In the taxidermy field she's mostly known for the ways she's able to put back the expression and character that belong to a certain animal.
            The main thing she loves doing is being outside, especially in her little "private" spot in the woods. She loves to take long walks in the woods and she can sit there for hours. Ingrid usually takes her sketch-book along with her in case she sees something that she would like to draw. These days it's not very rare if you see a fox or a roe deer getting a drink at the lake when the evening settles in.
            She created countless traditional styled Celtic and Pictish jewelry, t-shirts and tattoo designs, designed business logos, has illustrated children's books, card decks, featured in many limited edition portfolios and sold many prints, cards and posters of her work. Her specialties are traditional Celtic and Pictish works, but also her own 'free-style' she developed throughout her personal studies of those arts, fantasy, anthromorphic and spiritual and inspirational based art. One thing is for sure... she'll keep on creating and with her creations she'll continue to amaze and inspire those around her with her talent.

Vítor González, Asturias, Spain – Keltia Art Studio

            Vítor González has a Bachelor in History from Oviedo University, and is a practicing artist of rare insight and creative ability.  From his official bio:

            "...Who am I?  Well, it's a hard question to answer.  My name's Vítor González, and I was born in Asturias (a Northern Spanish region with strong Celtic roots) 34 years ago.  I'm trying to become a Celtic artist, trying to improve my skills, and trying to be a better person each day.  It isn't an easy job!
            I have exhibited my artwork in Spain and Great Britain; also, you can find my illustrations on several books and magazines published throughout Spain, Great Britain, Germany and France.  I think that my stuff isn't quite bad, but I'm not too objective – I prefer to show you my artwork and wait for your opinion about it...."

            Vítor is an artist I met on deviantArt.com, and who has become a great inspiration to me over the past year.  To the right is his Celtic Seagulls motif, which I hope someday soon to translate into glass (now that I've received his blessing).  He manages to keep his designs simple, yet the overall effect is distressingly professional.  Not only that, but I can't get over his use of color.  Most Celtic artists seem to either stick with black ink, or go for the garish neon palettes of Photoshop, but Vítor's work is always vibrant, crisp, and intuitive. 

Dagda Studio – Chris O'Regan, St. Albans, New Zealand

            Chris O'Regan is a Celtic metalworker and artist, based out of Christchurch, New Zealand.  A trained silversmith with a hand in everything from jewelry work to sculpture, Chris has developed a unique approach to copper patination that never ceases to amaze through its unpredictable variations.  Following metal-working traditions centuries old, his resulting works are richly stippled and textured with variegated colors — mainly greens, but also purples, browns, and gold.  The unpatinated copper is itself treated to resist coloring with age.
            Chris uses his Irish/Scottish ancestry much in the same way I do — as a path of artistic expression that gives meaning both to itself and to the labors of its creator.  By producing art influenced by his family history, he can honor his ancestors and help keep the traditions of the past alive. I greatly look forward to collaborating with him in the (possibly near) future, as I'd been trying for years to figure out a way to get the effects he seems to achieve so effortlessly.  The day I know for certain that lead and copper don't react corrosively towards each other is the day my plans get even further towards the unmanageable.  In a good way.